Drunk In Love
by BessAndHenryMcCord
Summary: Sometimes you need a little push. Elizabeth and Henry in college.


A/N: So, I'm trying to balance out the angsty story I'm writing with some fluff. I just want to say that my angsty story is AU, so this story doesn't fit into that universe. So, the backstory for this story is that Henry is Elizabeth's TA and they have been really good friends for about three months, but both want to be more than that. This is Elizabeth's first semester of college. Obviously she isn't 21, so this does involve underage drinking, but I do not encourage that at all. I understand that it is strange to have class on Saturday, but it was the only way the story worked.

It was a Friday night, and like any other college student looking to forget about their problems and have some fun, Elizabeth was at a party. Her problems didn't have to do with academics, or money, or anything like that. No, her problem had to do with a boy. A boy! In all of her life, Elizabeth had never cared this much about a boy. Sure, she had crushes and had a few relationships in high school, but nothing like this. She craved to spend time with Henry, to see his smile, to hear him laugh, to talk with him about anything. Elizabeth was frustrated with herself in a way. She always thought of herself as someone who wouldn't completely fawn over a guy. She had always thought that the girls who went to her school were ridiculous for that. I mean, guys weren't very mature at their age. But, Henry McCord was different and special. Elizabeth knew that she was falling in love with him, although, she was fairly certain that she already was in love with him.

That wasn't the reason that Elizabeth was at a party. It certainly was a contributing factor, but it wasn't the entire reason. She wasn't someone who usually enjoyed parties or looked forward to going to them, but her roommate had asked her and she decided to just do something spontaneous and unexpected. She certainly wasn't expecting to get as drunk as she did.

After a few too many drinks, Elizabeth was dancing crazily on the makeshift dance floor with her roommate and friends. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Henry enter the room. She was too drunk to care. In fact, she was so drunk that she decided to go over and talk to Henry herself.

"Hey Henry." Elizabeth said, her words coming out slurred. "Hey Elizabeth." Henry replied. He could definitely tell she was drunk. "How are you doing?" "I'm fine. Are you here with someone?" Henry asked, wanting to make sure that she had someone to help take care of her because this was definitely going to cause a massive hangover. "Yeah, I'm here with my roommate and my friends and they're over there." Elizabeth said as she started to point at where she thought her friends were, but she couldn't remember. "Elizabeth, do you not know where your friends are?" Henry asked. "It appears not. My head hurts." "Ok, here, I'll take you home." "I don't have a dorm key, my roommate brought hers." "Ok, I'll take you to my apartment."

Elizabeth needed help getting into the car and then up the stairs that led to Henry's apartment.

As soon as they arrived, Henry brought her over to the couch and she immediately laid down. He walked into his kitchen and got her a glass of water. Then, Henry walked back out into the living room area and handed her the glass.

After handing her the glass, he called her roommate, Amy, to make sure that she knew where Elizabeth was. "Hey Amy. This is Henry McCord, Elizabeth's Teacher Assistant and friend. Don't worry, Elizabeth is here with me and safe. I just wanted to let you know so that you didn't worry about her." "Thank you Henry." Amy said before she hung up. Henry thought that she sounded sober, so that was good.

Henry walked over to the couch and sat at the end of it. Elizabeth was lying down with her head propped up on a pillow that was on the arm of the couch. "Thanks for the water." Elizabeth said, while her words were still slurred. "You're welcome." After a few minutes of silence, Elizabeth spoke up. "You know what? You're very handsome." Elizabeth said matter-of-factly. Henry laughed and said, "Thank you. You're beautiful." Henry was feeling bold, considering the fact that she probably wouldn't remember this in the morning. "I like you a lot." Elizabeth. "I like you too." "I love you, Henry McCord." Elizabeth said before falling asleep.

Henry sat there with a stunned look on his face. He never expected that Elizabeth would feel that way about him. She was brilliant, caring, sweet, funny, and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He had really enjoyed getting to know her over the past three months. But, he didn't think that she would be willing to open up so soon about her parents or her childhood. He was certainly happy about this, but still, she loved him. This made him ecstatic. What if she didn't mean it? What if it was just something she said out of drunken stupor? He really needed answers, but he would have to wait until morning.

Henry knew that it wasn't smart to leave Elizabeth alone. She was still drunk, so leaving her alone, would not be a good idea. So, he brought in a pillow and blanket and slept next to the couch.

The next morning, Elizabeth woke up with a pounding headache. She noticed that Henry was sleeping on the floor. Why was she at Henry's? As she tried to remember what happened, Henry woke up. "Hey" Henry said. "Hi, what happened last night?" As she said this, Henry noticed the time and realized that they had to leave for class, especially because they had to stop by her dorm to get her class supplies. "I'll explain on the way over to class, but we need to get moving." Henry said.

Elizabeth took some medicine before they headed out. They stopped at her dorm to get her class supplies and she changed her clothes. She was still feeling horrible. "So what did happen last night?" Elizabeth asked. "When I arrived at the party you were at, you were really drunk. You needed to be brought home, but you couldn't remember where your friends were. I brought you home and you drank some water and we talked for a little bit before you fell asleep." Henry finished. "Ok, what did we talk about?" "I really don't think it is that important." "Come on Henry, I need to know. I probably said something embarrassing. So, please tell me and don't leave anything out." Henry decided that it would be best to tell her the truth. Both of them would get their answers. "Ummm… You said that I was handsome," Henry said. Elizabeth blushed. "Please tell me there isn't more." Elizabeth said. "Well…. You told me that you loved me." Henry said. Elizabeth could not have possibly been more red. "Oh" Elizabeth said, truly stunned. It was true, but this was embarrassing because he probably didn't feel the same way. There were a few moments of awkward silence. "Well, look at that, this is our building for class. See you in there." Elizabeth said before she sped up and walked into the building and then into class.

Henry followed and by the time he got there, she was already seated. He pulled out the papers that were graded and sat them on the desk, feeling defeated. Suddenly, he had an idea.

The professor walked in and started to address the class. "Students, your papers will be handed back to you today. We are halfway through the semester, which means that things change a little bit. I still grade all papers, but there will be a large sticky note on your papers. That sticky note will contain comments from Henry, the teaching assistant. This is so that he can get use to making comments on papers. There will only be a few comments."

Henry picked up the papers and started to hand them out. When he handed Elizabeth hers, she didn't make eye contact. He walked back to his desk and watched her as she read the comments.

Elizabeth started to read the note. "Good use of important vocabulary. Interesting take on the concept. I love you too." Elizabeth read that last one over and over again. She jerked her head up to look at Henry and saw that he was grinning, so she gave him a small smile back.

Could it really be? Did Henry McCord really love her? She had hoped but she never thought that someone like him would like someone like her. She had so much baggage and didn't think someone would want to deal with that. Elizabeth tried to focus for the rest of class, but it was a lost cause. She couldn't stop thinking of Henry and really just wanted class to end so that they could talk.

At the end of class, everyone started to pack up their things, but Elizabeth lingered for a little bit, standing by her seat. After everyone had left, including the professor, Elizabeth started to walk down the steps to where Henry was. As soon as he turned around, she did something that surprised both her and Henry. She ran the rest of the way down the steps and jumped up into Henry's arms. Henry caught her and spun her around for a few moments before putting her back on the ground. But, they didn't relinquish their hold on each other. Henry had his arms wrapped around Elizabeth's waist and she had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Do you really love me?" Elizabeth asked. "Of course I do. Elizabeth, you're kind, brilliant, funny, gorgeous and so much more. I love you so much." Henry stated. "I love you too. I wish the way I told you the first time could have been a little better." "Except, neither of us were willing to admit our feelings to the other, so maybe it was for the best that the alcohol gave you a little push." Henry said. Henry and Elizabeth nuzzled their noses together. "I think we are already that couple that makes everyone want to barf." Elizabeth said while laughing. "There isn't anyone I would rather make people barf with than you." Elizabeth and Henry started to laugh. This was going to be good.


End file.
